Friday, September 12, 2008

A Mexican national faces deportation following his conviction last week for raping a juvenile under the age of 16, authorities said.

Agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Victor Gonzales-Ferreira, 23, on Tuesday when he was released from the Sussex Correctional Institution and placed him into removal proceedings.

He entered the United States at or near Nogales, Ariz., at about May 1, 2005 without inspection and admission by an immigration officer, said ICE spokesman Mike Gilhooly.

He was arrested by state police on July 30 on seven counts of rape, sexual intercourse with a juvenile -- a fourth-degree felony.

Gonzales-Ferreira was convicted Sept. 4 of rape in Kent County Superior Court.

Under federal law, Gonzales-Ferreira is considered an aggravated felon because the crime he was convicted of involves the rape and sexual abuse of a minor, Gilhooly said.

“Identifying and removing criminal aliens is one of the keys to protecting national security and promoting public safety in Delaware and throughout the country,” said Thomas Decker, field office direction for the agency’s Office of Detention and Removal in Philadelphia.

“Over the last few years, we have intensified our efforts and made great progress in identifying aliens being held in U.S. correctional facilities to ensure they are not released back into our communities,” Decker said.

Gonzales-Ferreira was issued a Final Administrative Removal Order on Tuesday and will be detained at the York County Prison in York, Pa., pending his deportation to Mexico.

So far this year, the Philadelphia field office, which includes Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, has deported 4,538 illegal aliens, 2,210 of whom were convicted criminals.